as in approximately
close to but not exactly
I have plus or minus five dollars in change
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Recent Examples of plus or minus
The margin of error was plus or minus 3%, with a 95% confidence interval.
—
Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 9 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plus or minus
Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 9 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plus or minus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plus or minus
Adverb
-
The General Sherman tree has enough wood to build approximately 120 average-size homes.—
Kurt Snibbe,
Oc Register,
20 Sep. 2025
-
Turning Point’s Student Action Summit hosts approximately 5,000 people annually and its latest Young Women’s Leadership Summit had 3,000 participants.—
Lily Mae Lazarus,
Fortune,
20 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Passenger train travel time between Milan and Genoa will be cut to about an hour from more than 1½ hours.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
19 Sep. 2025
-
He had been wanted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the suffocation deaths of Paityn Decker, 9; Evelyn Decker, 8, and Olivia Decker, 5, of Wenatchee in Chelan County, about 150 miles east of Seattle.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
19 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Penske says roughly 20% of Google searches leading to its sites now display AI Overviews — and, here’s the rub, that those summaries lift material from publishers’ work, answer the user’s query directly on the results page, and keep readers from clicking through.—
Andy Meek,
Forbes.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Indeed, social media platforms drive roughly 80% of total online traffic in the country and serve as vital channels for business and communication.—
Nir Kshetri,
The Conversation,
14 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
With five blades sandwiched between two moisturizing bars, this razor speeds up the entire process (no fussing around with shaving cream), nourishing dry skin and making nicks a rare occurrence.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
-
During one such strike last week, around two dozen Russian drones entered Poland -- by far the largest-ever of Russian drones into NATO airspace.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plus or minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plus%20or%20minus. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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